Marseille - Manchester United

Olympique Marseille welcome Manchester United in one of the most interesting clashes in the Champions League this week. Both teams have been doing great in both their domestic championships and in this tournament and I expect a very tough and nervous fixture at the Velodrome so I would go for the “Under 2.5 goals”.

Olympique Marseille finished second in their group featuring Chelsea, Spartak Moscow, and Zhilina and they will look to further progress in the competition but they got one of the toughest draw – Manchester United. The French side sit in 3rd place in the French Ligue 1 and their coach Didier Deschampes can be happy with the job he is doing at Stade Velodrome. The 2:1 win against Saint Etienne at the weekend means Marseille are only three points behind current league leaders Lille and the spirit in the dressing room will be very high. All three home games of Marseille this season in the competition finished with only one goals scored and I think we might witness something similar on Wednesday.

Manchester United have had a decent season both in the Champions League and in the Premier League albeit the Red Devils have not been very convincing. However, Sir Ales Ferguson’s team are now in the quarterfinals after a 1:0 win against Crawley on Saturday, a game in which most of their first team players were rested so this will also be an advantage for them. United have got a four-point cushion over Arsenal in the league whereas their top spot in the group stage of the Champions League ensured an second-seeded opponent. Five of the team’s six games in the tournament finished with two or less goals.

Both teams will not be willing to bump forward from the off on Wednesday as every mistake could be very costly and I think the tie will be decided in the second leg at Old Trafford.